Perseverance an Important Elements When Dealing with RA Flares

Sometimes I forget that there is more to life than my own
Rheumatoid Arthritis.Sometimes I am so consumed with
being sick, that I forget that there is purpose to my life.Sometimes it’s hard to see through my pain.

Flaring

This weekend was an absolutely exhausting weekend for
me.I got less than six hours of sleep
since Saturday, and everyone with RA knows what it means to not get enough
sleep. That’s right, I am full force
into a flare.My hands, wrists, and feet
hurt.My ankles, knees, and hips
hurt.And my shoulders are killing me!I hurt everywhere!And even if I would have had time to lay down
and get some sleep, it would be interrupted by the constant throbbing that RA
brings.

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Living life

Why am I flaring, you ask, why didn’t I get any sleep?This weekend my chocolate lab delivered ten
puppies.That’s right, ten!She mated with a great pyrenese so she had
very big puppies which made for a very difficult labor.She went into labor around 2:00pm Saturday
and delivered her last pup at 4:00pm Sunday.I helped deliver every single one of them, and I never left
her side.Half of her puppies were
delivered breach, so they required me helping pull them out as she was having a
very difficult time.We weren’t
expecting the delivery of the pups for another week, and she went into labor so
fast that she started delivering puppies on her bed in the garage.I sat there for over twenty four hours
delivering the puppies.It was one of
the most amazing experiences ever.And
she had ten perfect little puppies.

This experience reminded me that there is purpose in my
life, and that I do have a life to live.Sometimes I think we all get so consumed with taking our medications and
dwelling on the things we can no longer do that we forget to live.I mean actually, truly, living our life.We all have a purpose for our life with
rheumatoid arthritis, but we have to learn what that is for ourselves.You can never really learn your purpose if
you don’t live your life.It’s so hard
to not get caught up and consumed with all the negative that RA brings.But we all have a life to live despite having
RA.We have a purpose, so find it and
live your life.It may be that your
purpose is to help others deal with the diagnosis of RA.It may be taking care of a loved one who has
RA.Your purpose may even be as simple
as helping a child smile.Life with RA
is just plain hard, but find your purpose, live your life, and you will find
that it is worth it!Yes, I am in
pain.Yes, I am in a flare.Yes, I am living my life with RA and it is a
good life!